14 April 2014
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Forthcoming events
This list may be out of date if you are reading an archived page. For
the current list visit our Calendar.
April 2014
Thursday 17 April Locomotive Club of
Great Britain Norman Matthews "Steam in Central America"
Friday 25 April Great Western Society
Tony Icke 'Around the regions in the
sixties'
Saturday 26 April Excursion Chester
Model
Railway
Club
/
FR
Dee
and
Mersey: 'Somerset Coast Express'
Hooton, Bache, Wrexham, Gobowen and Shrewsbury to Bristol,
Weston-super-Mare, Taunton and Minehead.
Monday 28 April RCTS
Merseyside, Chester & North Wales ‘South of the
Border steam in the 50s and 60s’ by David Kelso, David
travels from Kent to present a follow up to his earlier North of
the
border presentation, including a period when he was resident in the
West Riding of Yorkshire.
May 2014
Friday 2 May (change of date) Mid-Cheshire
Rail
Users'
Association Excursion from Hooton, Chester and stations on
the mid-Cheshire line to Dumfries, Kilmarnock and Ayr.
Thursday 8 May Llandudno
and
Conwy
Valley Railway Society 'The Deganwy Dock Story' Eric Smith
Saturday 10 May Wirral
O Gauge group
open afternoon: 'We would like to invite model railway people to come
along and bring a loco or just watch. We are also looking for new
members to join us.' Unit 7, The Odyssey Centre, Corporation Road,
Birkenhead, CH41 1HB on 10th May 2014 from 13.00 to 17.00. Admission
£2. 2 rail F/s DC & DCC continuous tracks. More details can be
obtained from Jenny Elliott on 0151 6530637 or j.elliott37[at]sky.com
Tuesday 13 May 8E Railway
Association Les Nixon - Railways of Scotland.
Tuesday 13 May (Change of Date)
North
Wales Railway Circle A.G.M. followed by Members Videos,
Prints, Slides, and Digital work in the Photo Competition.
Thursday 15 May Locomotive Club of
Great Britain AGM and Members/Visitors Slides & Digital
Photos.
Saturday 24 May Steam on the Coast Vintage Trains Seaside
Flyer hauled by steam loco 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
from Tyseley, Wolverhampton, Stafford and Crewe to Llandudno for the
Llandudno Air Tattoo which is taking place that day.
June 2014
July 2014
Saturday 5 July North Wales
Area Group of the N Gauge Society.
Welsh N Gauge Model Railway Show. St Mary's and St John's Halls,
Rosehill Street, Conwy. What? - The largest gathering of N
Gauge
model railway layouts in Wales Opening times - 10.00am to 4.00pm
Admission £4.00 adults - £3.00 concessions - Children under
15 Free
when accompanied by a paying adult.
Sunday 27 July Steam on the Coast. Railway
Touring
Company. 'North Wales Coast Express' Liverpool, Broad
Green, Warrington BQ, Frodsham and Chester to Llandudno, Bangor and
Holyhead.
Tuesday 29 July Steam on the Coast. Railway
Touring
Company. Welsh Mountaineer. Preston, Warrington BQ,
Frodsham and Chester to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
August 2014
Sunday 3 August Steam on the Coast. Railway Touring Company.
North Wales Coast Express Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport, Manchester
Piccadilly, Altrincham and Chester to Llandudno, Bangor and Holyhead.
Diesel-hauled Crewe - Manchester.
Sunday 10 August Steam on the Coast. Railway Touring Company.
North Wales Coast Express Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport, Manchester
Piccadilly, Altrincham and Chester to Llandudno, Bangor and Holyhead.
Diesel-hauled Crewe - Manchester.
Sunday 17 August Steam on the Coast. Railway
Touring
Company. 'North Wales Coast Express' Liverpool, Broad
Green, Warrington BQ, Frodsham and Chester to Llandudno, Bangor and
Holyhead.
Tuesday 19 August Steam on the Coast. Railway
Touring
Company. Welsh Mountaineer. Preston, Warrington BQ,
Frodsham and Chester to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
September 2014
Tuesday 2 September Steam on the Coast. Railway
Touring
Company. Welsh Mountaineer. Preston, Warrington BQ,
Frodsham and Chester to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Sunday 7 September Steam on the Coast. Railway Touring Company.
North Wales Coast Express Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport, Manchester
Piccadilly, Altrincham and Chester to Llandudno, Bangor and Holyhead.
Diesel-hauled Crewe - Manchester.
Saturday 20 September Steam on the Coast. Steam Dreams: Cathedrals Express.
London -
Holyhead.
|
It's a pleasant spring day on 7 April as 158 828 calls at Llanfair PG,
pictured by Greg Mape.
Activity in the background reveals that the 'iconic' James
Pringle
Weavers
store is now open after extensive refurbishment
following a fire
in
October
2013.
Measurement Train (1)
A Network Rail measurement train, 09:06 Derby - Crewe via Holyhead,
provided some classic locomotive interest on the North Wales Coast line
on 14 April, a welcome sight as the Valley Flask train seems to be in
hibernation at present. The train was to-and-tailed by two
consecutively-numbered Class 37 locos, 37
611 and 37 612. 611 was
in the lead westbound through Rhyl, pictured (above) by Roly High.
37 612 on the rear, behind support coach 9523 is a former brake-second
passenger vehicle (Roly High).
The westbound run near Talybont, east of Bangor (Alan Crawshaw).
More trains for the Cambrian
Transport Minister Edwina Hart has announced that from May 2015 four
additional return services will operate between Aberystwyth and
Shrewsbury, Mondays - Saturdays, providing an hourly service at peak
morning and afternoon times. There will also be two new return Sunday
services, and an improvement to evening services on the Cambrian Coast
between Barmouth and Pwllheli. The new services will create 20 new
train crew and depot jobs, and will be on an initial three-year trial
basis.
On the Heart of Wales line, there will be extra journeys between
Llandovery and Gowerton/Swansea and between Llandrindod and
Shrewsbury/Crewe offering good morning commuting opportunities on
Mondays – Fridays. Other return services will become more conveniently
timed and the Heart of Wales Line Forum gets funding to explore the
possibility of further improvements to the line.
Our Comment: The most-welcome extra services are, or course, the reason
why extra passing loops were installed on the Cambrian some years ago
now. The press release tells us that 'additional services on both
railways are designated for a three
year trial under Section 36 of the Railways Act 2005 “experimental
services” designation'. The same was said when more trains to Fishguard
were introduced in 2011; there seem to be a re-interpretation by the
Welsh Government of the original purpose of the so-called 'Speller'
(named for the late Tony
Speller
MP who sponsored it) legislation which covered the opening
or re-opening of sections of line and/or stations, not simple timetable
improvements or reductions which surely do not require this legal
sanction.
Freight views
56 094 on 7 April passing
Wrexham General in the evening sunshine at 19:00 with a load of timber
for Chirk (George Jones). Colas
have just won a five-year extension to their contract to haul logs to
the Kronospan factory, UK's only fully integrated producer of
'wood-based panel products' including MDF and chipboard as well as
laminated flooring.
The trailing end view shows the length of the train, counted at 20
bogie wagons. Picture by George Jones,
who
writes:
The
train
(12:40 Carlisle - Chirk) was reported running 4
minutes early, and approached from the north end with a red aspect
still showing for the Watery Road level crossing. 56 094 came to a
stand opposite me and presented a nice portrait in the evening light
before getting the yellow and moving off when the crossing gates closed
for the 19:05 passenger train (17:08 Birmingham International to
Llandudno) to pass. A closely timed movement to clear the single line
section to the north.'
56 094 heads across the the Roodee viaduct, past Chester Racecourse,
four days later, on 11 April with another load of timber for Chirk (Bob Greenhalgh).
Another evening freight through Wrexham, on the unpredictable days when
it runs 'as required', is the return of the empty wagons which have
brought coal from Scotland to the cement works at Penyffordd. Above,
on 9 April, DB Schenker 66 053
brings the train of open box wagons across the connection from the
Borderlands line through Platform 3 at Wrexham General (George Jones). At Croes Newydd,
south of the station, the locomotive would run round its train before
hauling it north along the main line to Chester, Warrington Bank Quay,
Manchester Victoria and Hebden Bridge to Doncaster Belmont marshalling
yard.
The Beeching Legacy
John Hobbs writes: 'There
is a new book on North Wales by Philip Horton: The Beeching Legacy: The Cambrian Lines,
North Wales and the Wirral Peninsula.
I have been fortunate to have twenty photographs included in it, plus
some from a friend from my teenager years who now lives in
London.
There are some mistakes, such as a mention of a through train to
Liverpool (Central), but apart from that it is an interesting
perspective of the changes inflicted on the railways in the area by Dr
Beeching.
It is produced by Silver Link publishing for £20.
Progress at Altrincham
For some time now Altrincham station and surrounds have been a building
site, with apparently slow progress being made on developing a new
'transport interchange' to replace the 'old-fashioned' (1970s)
interchange with its unfriendly bus stands. A major visible step
forward occurred over the night of 12-13 April, when the span of a new
footbridge, which will have lift access, was positioned by crane. Mike Battman took these pictures on
13 April. Above, the view from the level entrance at the end of
Platform 2/3, as a Northern Class 150 calls, working a Manchester -
Chester service. The old footbridge, seen behind, has already been
partially removed.
Hopefully the interface between the new bridge and the old
canopies will be tidied up.
Work is also under way on Platform 1 to remove the canopy roof,
installed in 2006 to replace the old roof glazing which had become
unsafe. We understand that a new and better roof will replace it.
An artist's impression of the future view from the bus station.
Flashback: Platform 1, now used by Metrolink trains, as it was in the
1980s, with 304 039 waiting to
depart for Hazel Grove, a station which itself currently sees just one
electric train per day (19:21 from Manchester Piccadilly, all the rest
being diesel (Charlie Hulme).
Passenger assortment
Altrincham on 7 April, with Northern Rail 158 138 departing with a Chester to
Manchester Piccadilly service; in the background a Metrolink tram
awaits departure (Greg Mape).
The
train
will
soon
enter the single-track section through Navigation
Road station; while the two Metrolink tracks to the right will also
merge into one. Historically, all four of these tracks were 'heavy
rail'.
This class 158, photographed by Greg
Mape, is working the Holyhead - Rhyl shuttle provided during the
engineering work at Saltney Junction on 6 April. Having called at
Colwyn Bay, it is about to enter the 485-yard Penmaenrhos Tunnel.
Platform 3a, Stockport, Friday 11 April, and 'Pacer' 142 048 (coupled to a sister unit)
prepares to leave at 10:13 with the quasi-legendary 'Denton Flyer'
which runs to Stalybridge, one way only, once per week. One might
expect such a train to run empty, but due to its fame (or notoriety) it
often loads to 20 or more passengers. Its 'marginal' running cost is
actually quite low, as there is a requirement Monday - Friday for an
empty stock train, 09:05 Stockport to Manchester Victoria which
traverses the same route as far as Denton Junction, so only a few extra
miles via Stalybridge and and a guard (empty stock trains do not need
one now). Some kind soul in Northern Rail has arranged for the Friday
train to leave later at 10:13 to encourage pensioners and cheap-day
return users to travel and sample the delights of the equally-famous
Stalybridge buffet.
As an extra attraction, the train on Good Friday, 18 April will be a 'Folk Train' arranged by the Friends
Groups of the line, with musicians playing on the train and afterwards
in the station buffet. Passengers can, of course, return by one of the
frequent trains between Stalybridge and Manchester.
Running on a surviving section of old-style jointed bullhead track -
note the dip at the rail joint - 158
838
departs from Rhyl for Holyhead with the 09:09 from Birmingham
International on 14 April (Roly High).
Shipping news
MV Jerome H, built in
1985 and owned by Helms Reederei of Wilhelmshaven, Germany, Loading
limestone destined for Rye (Sussex) at Llanddulas, 9 April 2014.
Picture by Dave Sallery.
Past Times with John Hobbs - 50 Years ago at Chester
As it was relatively quiet on the North Wales Coast Main Line on a
Saturday, in the winter, I decided I would venture out to Chester to
see if there was more to see there. There was quite a bit of freight
plus the chance of the odd GWR machine. Some locomotives were still
cleaned at a reasonable frequency in early 1964; so some charming shots
could still be obtained before the rot set in properly in 1965.
Presumably recruitment of cleaners to steam depots had stopped by then
so cleaning became a rarity. The four pictures here represent a
reasonable haul on a winter Saturday afternoon.
Above: In nice condition, 'Jubilee' 4-6-0 45567 South Australia potters about with
some wagons in Chester's freight yard; this was 29 February 1964, so an
extra day that year to photograph steam in action. The former
footbridge out to Hoole Road forms a backdrop; it also proved to be a
fine photographic vantage point. The recently destroyed goods shed is
also seen in the background while the complex steam-age track layout
fills the foreground.
The 12 noon Holyhead to Willesden vans was usually provided with
something large, on this occasion it was "Britannia" Class 4-6-2 70051 Firth of Forth; the locomotive is
'brewing up' prior to departure. This train was booked in Rhyl
from 2.29 to 2.54 pm but it always followed the 1.45 Llandudno to
Derby DMU at about 2.45pm through Prestatyn. On the other hand, it was
booked to stand in Chester from 3.36pm to 3.38pm, to change
footplate crews, but always arrived early and usually shunted some vans
on or off the consist before departing on time to Willesden, it ran via
the independent lines at Crewe and avoided the station.
Birkenhead "Crabs" were usual fare at Chester: here 42783 puts on a fine display on a
rake of coal empties, which I presume is heading for the Potteries
coalfield, The footbridge at the east end of the station forms a frame
while the yard seems to have a large number of Palvans (vans designed
with wider doors to load pallets) # present.
In the Chester bays 'Grange' class 4-6-0 6839 Hewell Grange is also getting steam
up, ready to leave with the 2.30 to Paddington the 'Inter City'.
This train would inevitably pass the combined 12.50pm Bangor / 1.05pm
Llandudno to Euston on the curve outside the station; this was due to
arrive at 2.32pm, so there were two London-bound trains progressing in
opposite directions, the former due in Paddington at 6.59pm and the
latter in Euston at 6.27 pm.
It looks like the 'rot set in' earlier on the ex-Western Region depots
as the 'Grange' is quite scruffy though still with cab numberplates and
nameplates. A Western Region brown & cream liveried Mk 1
brake leads the formation while the iconic towers of the Italianate
station building can be seen in the background with the tall chimney
from the lead works looming in the distance, all on 29 February 1964.
Fijian loco, now and then
Following on from the picture last week by Peter Basterfield (reprised above)
of HC972 (Lautoka No. 11, to become FIJI
next month) ...
... Mark Hambly, editor of the Statfold Railway's Guide Book and Stock List, sends
two pictures of it when it arrived at Statfold for restoration in
October 2012, along with the following notes about this interesting
machine.
Lautoka No.11 was one of an initial batch of three 0-6-0s ordered from
Hudswell Clarke in 1911 specifically for trunk hauls of sugar cane from
field to mill on the extensive 2' 0" gauge rail system of the Colonial
Sugar Refining (CSR) Company Limited in Fiji. At the time a major
expansion of the sugar mill railways on the island of Viti Levu was
under way, with Lautoka Mill's main line eventually extending 82 miles
to the south, hence the need for powerful locomotives with sufficient
coal and water capacity to make non-stop runs of up to 40 miles with
loaded cane trains weighing up to 300 tons.
The design was developed from a pair of 0-6-0Ts (works numbers 932
& 933) built by Hudswell Clarke for CSR the previous year, one for
Fiji and one for Australia, and was such a success that over 30 further
similar locomotives were built for use by CSR in Fiji and Queensland
over a period of 40 years. The last pair for Fiji were built in 1950,
12 years after a Hudswell diesel had been delivered there.
No.11 left Hudswell’s works in Leeds on 20 February 1912 for Manchester
from where it was shipped to Fiji, followed by sisters 10 & 12
(works numbers 973 & 974) to Liverpool on 28 February and
Manchester on 6 March respectively.
Dieselisation of the long-distance cane hauls began in the mid-1950s
and most of the steam locomotives were withdrawn and scrapped during
the 1960s. No.11 survived scrapping and was returned to working order
for Lautoka Mill's 75th anniversary in 1978 when it worked a special
passenger train for participating dignitaries.
In 1995 it was converted to diesel power for use on the Coral Coast
Railway’s tourist train, a modification which resulted in parts of the
firebox and boiler being cut away, creating major obstacles to
subsequent restoration. Arriving back in the UK in 2011, No.11 came to
Statfold in October 2012 and, despite the many challenges involved, was
successfully steamed and began running-in during February 2014.
The Statfold Barn railway is a private line in Staffordshire, which can
be visited by the public only at Enthusiasts' days for which
application in advance is required: See the Statfold
Barn Railway website for application details and information about
the railway.
Vale of Rheidol news - by Harry Saville
Art Exhibition at Devil's Bridge: The Vale of Rheidol Railway is to
host an exhibition of work by the renowned wildlife artists Terence
Lambert and Dee Doody in the historic Booking Hall at Devil's Bridge,
during June. The exhibition will run from Monday, 16th June until
Sunday, 22nd June and will be open to both railway passengers and
passing members of the public. Terence Lambert is especially well
known for his paintings of birds, having almost exclusively painted
them for thirty years. His work on display will be complemented
by a film specially produced by Dee Doody. Dee Doody has gained a
reputation for producing emotive, high quality nature films. In
his production for the Vale of Rheidol, he hopes to showcase the
wildlife of the Rheidol Valley, Red Kites and Pine Martens
included. The exhibition will also display plans of the Vale of
Rheidol's ambitious new visitor centre based at Devil's Bridge, which
will incorporate its own art gallery and cinema.
New Viewing 'Windows': The Vale of Rheidol Railway, in partnership with
Natural Resources Wales (NRW), has created eleven new viewing 'windows'
along a two mile stretch of forested line between Rheidol Falls Halt
and Devil's Bridge. The line runs along a ledge high above the
Rheidol Valley floor following the contours of the mountain side, from
which dramatic views can be afforded. Spectacular views of
Rheidol Falls and the Cymystwyth Quarry that were lost to rampant
forest growth have been reopened. The windows, which are 50-100m
wide have required around 250 trees to be felled, fitting in with NRW's
long term Age Structuring Plan. This tree felling will enable
new, natural growth, including flowers and native Ash trees to
grow. The work was completed over an intensive two week period by
railway staff, external contractors Advanced Forestry & Garden
Services and Natural Resources Wales.
New Walker's Guide: The Vale of Rheidol's newly enlarged shop is to
stock a new title, "Railway Walks in the Vale of Rheidol", by Maurice
Kyle. Maurice Kyle has been a volunteer on the Vale of Rheidol's
Station Restoration Project since 2012. The book, published
privately by Maurice Kyle and to be sold exclusively by the Vale of
Rheidol complements the Station Restoration Project, which has seen
waymarks placed on paths higher up in the Rheidol Valley so even the
casual walker can find their way to the various halts along the line.
Due to be published in late April, some content from the book is
available in PDF leaflets available for free download from the
railway's website www.rheidolrailway.co.uk,
along
with
much
more
information about the railway.
News from the Llangollen Railway
Llangollen and the River Dee on 9 April: visiting 2-6-0 5322 appears to be emerging from the
bridge with a train from Ruabon, but as we all know, it is just running
round its train at the end of the line (John
Hobbs).
5322 passes
Farmer Pierce's land on Wednesday 9th April with the final departure of
the day, from Llangollen;, the horse displays some interest in
proceedings (John Hobbs).
On 12 April, the Class 108 railcar worked three driver
experience trips (Llangollen to Carrog and return), seen above at
Berwyn (Peter Dickinson).
The restored Taff Vale Railway tank loco (see last issue) left
Llangollen on Thursday 10 April headed for the Gwili Railway via
Cardiff. Before it left the two first year apprentices Luke Denoven and
Harry Jones posed in front of it for the camera of Llangollen Railway
Chief Engineer Dave Owen. Both
have played a major part in the loco's restoration from a kit of part
to a static display model.
On the Corwen extension, the the track laid into the Dwyrain Corwen
East station site on Thursday 3 April. On 4 April it was the turn of
the buffer stop to be installed. Above, the view of the station length
from bridge 29 with Corwen on the horizon (George Jones).
By 13:30 the buffer stop - once at Plas Bonwm - was delivered, swung
round and deposited at the end of the track to await connection.
Mission (more or less) accomplished (George
Jones).
To paraphrase Churchill, this is not the end of the project, but it is
the beginning of the next stage to install the platform and access,
ballast the track and get it tamped, with a view to first trains in the
summer. The next challenge will be the building and installation of the
100 metre platform and associated access ramp leading off the
embankment. It is evident this work will require the employment of some
expertise to achieve this installation to the required standard and
appropriate help is being sought.
Congratulations to all those who have contributed to this achievement,
against all the odds and frustrations, and have delivered the
product.
Measurement Train (2)
From time to time the 'Down Main' line opposite Platform 4 at Stockport
is used for layovers of Network Rail measurement trains. Basking in the
sunshine on the morning of 11 April was a formation including a
locomotive very familiar to readers of this page, Arriva blue 67 003.
A chance for a look at some of the vehicles in the train. One of the
more distinctive coaches in the Network Rail fleet is Overhead Line
Equipment Test Car 975091, which once carried the Greek-sounding
appellation Mentor - a contrived acronym for 'Mobile Electrical Network
Testing, Observation and Recording' and also the more prosaic 'Test Car
3.' It was converted at Swindon from Mark 1 Brake Corridor Second 34616
built in 1955 (Thanks to the excellent Train Testing website
for
this
information).
It
has two loco-style pantographs, enabling the
interaction between the pantograph and wires to be monitored.
Lights, camera housing and an observation window are fitted adjacent to
each pantograph.
The rest of the consist: 72631, a M2 2F coach which carries a number in
the electric multiple unit series, from its days on Gatwick Express
duties. Its current use is the new 'Plain Line Pattern Recognition'
system in which moving images of the track are processed by a computer
system programmed to look in real-time for signs of faults.
Mark 2F 'support coach' 5981, which still carries its original number,
is used for staff accommodation.
Finally, 6263, a former guard's and parcel van, now fitted with diesel
generators to power the equipment on the train. In the background, now
converted to flats, the 'Blue Bell' pub well-remembered by generations
of Stockport County supporters.
About to lead the train back home to Derby, the rest of its itinerary
to Rugby and Northampton having been cancelled, was 67 016. Class 67s are used, rather
than the 31s and 37s seen on other Network Rail trains, to allow this
train to run at high speeds. Note the colour discrepancy between the
coaches: the generator car is painted in the 'warning panel yellow'
used on the front of locos, darker than what is now the standard
Network Rail yellow.
North
Wales Coast
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